Speech enabling mechanisms have been developed that allow a user of a computer system to verbally communicate with a computer system. Examples of speech recognition products that convert speech into text strings that can be utilized by software applications on a computer system include the ViaVoice™ product from IBM®, Armonk, N.Y., and NaturallySpeaking Professional from Dragon Systems, Newton, Mass. In particular a user may communicate through a microphone with a software application that displays output in a window on the display screen of the computer system.
The computer system then processes the spoken utterance (e.g., audible input) provided by the user and determines a response to that input. The computer system transforms the response into an audible output that is provided through a speaker connected to the computer system, so that the user can hear the audible output that represents the response. The computer system typically produces an audible output in a form, such as common English language words, that the user can recognize. In one traditional approach, the computer system selects the response from a predefined menu or list of words or stock phrases.